Government will prioritise interventions based on the provincial Drought Risk Register. Provincial Disaster Management will focus
on the most critical aspects of that list.

Funding will be reprioritised provincially and, should further assistance be needed, the province will approach National Treasury and the * ational Department of Water and Sanitation.

According to Provincial Disaster Management, the most immediate interventions, in the coming days will be:

The drilling of boreholes at hospitals, starting in the metro, to be followed by schools in high-risk water scarce areas.

Expediting the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for testing a mobile desalination plant using existing water inlet flows used for the reactors at the Koeberg site;

Drilling into the Table Mountain aquifer;

Appointing groundwater specialists in each district. The specialists will identify main ground water sources and coordinate the exploration and management of these resources going forward.

Assessing state of water restrictions in the respective municipalities – while local councils remain responsible for making area-specific decisions, the disaster declaration enables the province to issue instructions for any changes to these restrictions that may be necessary in each locality.

During the current declaration period, a provincial inter-ministerial committee, chaired by Anton Bredell, the MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, will meet regularly to assess immediate threats and recommend interventions.

The premier’s office assured the public that the declaration is no cause to panic. A disaster declaration enhances control by affording the province additional powers of intervention.

Residents are urged to continue with the current water-saving measures and to adhere to restrictions imposed in their respective municipalities.